after a super bumpy day yesterday with up to 30kts on the nose we are plodding along nicely with sun in our faces.

Will be scooting past the windward side of Nuku'alofa. No major drama in the trying conditions ! Craig, Dave, Jamie

bit bumpy going to weather at a good clip Craig, Dave, Jamie

wind finally arrived after two days motor sailing. Hope it's stays like this! Winds been up and down like a yoyo for no real apparent reason cloud effect sometimes but other times not. All well onboard Craig, Dave, Jamie

still motoring with full sail up heading for Vava,u . Caught nice albacore Tuna. Chucked line out agin while sailing over Sea mount and hooked monster Yellow fin broke my 570 pound leader, might have been a good thing but still don't like leaving lures behind! Looking forward to the easterly kicking in.

quite a mellow day with engine on and off, have been motoring all night to stop sail flop in massive swells.

Revilo is staying nice and salt free over the last 24hrs with some good rain storms accompanied by lots of wind, so we've kept the sail area down to make life less horizontal. Might try a sort of fishing today's as we approach some good sea mounts. Looking less likely for going direct to Vavau the small amount of headwinds and tons of rain kinda putting me off.

Came close to the yacht 'Forever' yesterday they head to Minerva as well. Almost warm enough to have a salt water shower!

another fun day sailing off the wind, shook out the third reef and put in a gybe as the wind went very light during the easterly change. Flopped around for half a hour at midday then back came the 20kts +..

All crew have their sea legs now, so we're running at 100%.

Weather is looking a little tempting to shoot the gap straight for Vavau, but time will tell!

can't ask for better wind than this for a good start, full moon also! No rain once away from the land. Starting to see some bigger waves, hitting 13kts now and then. Three reef Yankee and three reef main At 12:20am we had a fighter jet style plane fly overhead (strange!) Had some good fish pie for dinner but I'm the only one who enjoyed it! The rest ended up be regurgitated. Looking forward to the sun coming up and more speedy sailing.

Almost ready to depart for Vava'u in one week..

cleared into NZ waters heading to GH for Sunday morning whoop whoop ! 500nm of Motoring and still...motoring

still burning diesel fuel, glad we have a highly efficient Volvo sail drive. . Was a very enjoyable day of motoring, starting with a tasty omelette with Sweet potato. We're trying to use up all our illegal food stuffs before officer bob takes it all. For lunch was the last of our fresh veggies complimented by Big Eye tuna seared on the BBQ. The afternoon brought more thrills with two more Big Eyes jumping on the lines exciting stuff! O yeah then a couple of humpback whales payed us a visit. What a great welcome to NZ waters. Checking into Opua Saturday morning.

We sailed for a few hours today; nice breeze and good direction; hard on, so strongest apparent wind for us. Better to be hard on in this 5-10kt stuff than reaching. Caught a tuna this evening; a 10kg Big Eye Tuna. Had some raw with soy, wasabi and ginger. Beautiful. Then I butterfly cut some slabs and lightly fried them in egg and GF flour and some of Loren's secret herbs and spices. Divine.

Hoping to get into Opua by Saturday afternoon.

looks like we are motoring for three hundred miles if the fuel lasts that long ?

wind has come in from south so nice and cold. Lucky the wind is only light or we would be really bouncing around. 1 reef in main and rolled 2 in the jib keeping it comfortable. Looking forward to a westerly change.

no sails up since 22:00 motoring.

happy days sailing fast with 1 reef in main and 100% genoa boosting up to 10 kts at times. We were racing Domino 2 most of the night but have pulled away quickly as the wind comes behind. Everyone enjoying the sailing more with the wind behind and lapping up the last of the bare skin and board shorts as we feel the chill in the air coming fast. Only passed 8 miles from Ceva-i-Ra So did not manage to pick up a fish, however we did a have a small skipjack on the line for a few minutes. Looks like the pole will need to be deployed by morning to maintain our southern course. Plenty of fuel in the tank for the up incoming period of light headwinds, wind generator has been keeping up with all our power needs so far, gotta love em when at sea.

Less bumpy, has been welcomed change to the last days. Heading for Ceva-I-ra to catch massive Tuna.

All good onboard. Lumpy first night, lots of water over the decks.

All good onboard. Lumpy first night, lots of water over the decks.

anchored by Toronui at Dernerau. A good family gathering of 3 generations.

beat Toronui in by 10min so they had a surge at the end of a very quick passage from Vavauu.

Actually they are 6nm behind this Toronui position.

leaving port Maurelle today with Adamite. ETA Savusavu Tuesday morning. The race is on.

This morning we have departed the Haapai group, bound for Vavau. We are all sad to say goodbye to these great island as the last weeks cruising has been amazing thanks to the trade winds being lighter. We made a bee line for Limu which is a very isolated perfectly formed atoll having a lot of current with crystal clear water all around. We found many shells in good condition washed up on the shore. Next stop was Uonukuhihifo Is. many great drinking coconuts were found as we circumnavigated the island by foot coming across many wild pigs in the process. I went for a paddle surf on the reef but struggled with the current in the main pass running at excess of 3 kts. So we picked up anchor and moved a a mile down to Tofanga Is. where we found this great sand bar and nice rolling waved coming in, Loren was able to catch many great waves while standing up for the first time. We all had so much fun surfing these waves our friends on Midnight sun came out at 8.30 the next morning to partake in fun. A quick surf then ran back to Revilo picked up the anchor and zoomed up the coast through narrow passes all into the sun, so lucky in had a good track saved from our last trip. We still found more shallow spots along the way though. A quick clear out at customs in Pangai some fruit, no veg as usual then up to the northern most island for a 4:30 am departure. The bay was a little rolley with our anchor chain hooking the odd coral head. A small humpback payed us a visit while anchored, and while I write this another big Humpback just came up for a breath 20m off our stern. Vavau here we come! Sent from my iPad

checked into Pangai, went and had some food and drinks at the world famous Mariners Cafe. Anchored up by airport for the night. Heading back down south for some diving in pass tomorrow. Weather permitting.

Today the crew onboard Revilo departed Haafeva island which we've spent the last three days beaching, snorkelling and partying with the other yachts. The trade wind were still pumping through at a good 20-25kts. This left a 20mile beat to windward. We left in time for Maya's morning nap, hoping she would waken not feeling sick! Revilo pounded into a 1 m short sharp chop that seems to be a common occurrence around these parts. Pointing high was a mission on starboard tack with the waves really hitting us square on.. I opted to carry 1 reef in the main with the very small staysail, this combo worked well. After a hour we hooked into a nice MahiMahi manage to flick it onboard with minimal drama or blood flinging. This woke up Maya and she started to look green. After a few short tacks through some reef the 500lb mono fishing line went really tight, Loren got the GoPro out to shoot me single handedly landing the fish. As I pulled the fish closer to its death it became obvious that the GoPro would have to be ditched and the gaff used as it was a biggie. What a mess this one made of the cockpit, while laying over beating to windward made the cleanup impossible, still both Loren and I had great smiles on out dials, knowing what yummy dinner we would have upon anchoring at Uoleva. Maya on the other hand seemed a little perplexed by the whole circus which erupted in front of her. Hopefully we get to go kiting tomorrow. Craig,Loren and Maya S/Y REVILO revilo@myiridium.net

Good day ashore in search of some fruit and eggs, walked to the windward side of Haafeva where the village is. Found a very sleepy village with two shops, only one was open which was the Chinese one, the other being a local owner. Nothing fresh for sale at the first shop, so ventured further down the main drag and bumped into the other shop owner who said he was taking the day off. We asked him for eggs, he then proceeded to look under his house in the wrecked Toyota but could not find any , he explained they do not lay in the weekend. Maya was delighted to see many pigs , chickens , ratty dogs , cows and goats. Luckily we bumped into a well known local called Peter who offered us a seat at his outdoors kitchen shed /house. He then darted off into the jungle in search of some fruit, meanwhile we had some nice chats with his sister while she cooked us some delicious tapioca drizzled with fresh coconut milk yummy! I was carbo loaded for a month. Forty minutes later Peter turned up with green coconuts, papayas, spring onion, lemons. Back to the boat to try our luck at making a egg free birthday cake for Maya's first birthday! Craig, Loren ,Maya S/Y REVILO revilo@myiridium.net

Anchored at Ha'afeva, went for a paddle board on some small surf the water and coral life around here is still world class. Entering the bay was a little strange with the pole marker being completely different from what the charts say. Lucky for clear water and good light. Ashore tomorrow will begin search for more fruit. This bay has a large ship wharf so some supplies from the outside world will make it here, including corned beef! Going for some sundowners on Midnight Sun and more waypoint sharing. My fingers and toes are crossed for team Nz first race. Craig, Loren ,Maya S/Y REVILO revilo@myiridium.net

Sailed to O ua today, getting windy but good protection behind reef, will carry on to Haafeva tomorrow might by some fruit there. We caught two small spainish mackerel but threw them back. Boat is going well, glad I got the navionics charts with depth contours they have been quite spot on so far apart from one 6meter bomie which was a little out of place. Maya was sick again today, was not even rough she does not seem to mind and started eating her own spew, yucky! Just have to pump her back up with liquids once in the calm again. Sailed past a real nice surf spot marked on chart for next time! Craig, Loren , Maya S/Y Revilo Elan 434

anchored at Namuka nice place and great water, some of the best coral formations I've seen for a while. Ready to head north 14miles tomorrow catch another Tuna and carry on living the dream.

Spent yesterday afternoon and this morning at Kelefesia island, managed to get some mud maps off another yacht. What a lovely place white sand and great coral all round only one other yacht there. A really nice couple live on the island collecting and drying white snapper and smoking octopus, both being shipped to nuku'alofa markets. The swell got up over last night, so this morning the entrance was a maze of breaking waves about three meters high and blind rollers, so we strapped Maya into her cockpit car seat and donned life jackets locked the boat up and went for it. I cut the corner a little to close but managed to get out in between sets. Bit of luck,. Sailed west to clear the reef which seemed to extend another 3 miles further than my chart indicated, so starting to understand why many people don't visit some less charted areas of the Haapai We are now anchored up at Nomuka, will venture ashore tomorrow to do some more trading of engine oil for coconut water! Maya seems to love that stuff.

Day 9 - The eagle has landed. We have just anchored in Tonga at Pangaimotu island at tongatapu. Sailing for 8 days and 2 hrs.

Yesterday at lunch we had a platter of cheese crackers and sliced apple. The wind was blowing about 20 knots from nnw and we were finding it hard to lay to tonga. Predict wind was predicting a wind shift further to the west which never really eventuated. We had hoisted Craig's number 4 headsail on the baby stay and had two reefs in the main. Eventually we put the motor on to give us the height we needed. The sea state made things uncomfortable with some slamming over the bigger rollers that developed. Carmel and Perryn went for an afternoon snooze while craig and I waited for the wind shift. We could see the dark cloudy northern edge of the large low that was over moving eastwards behind us as we pitched northwards into coming darkness... the rain clouds were getting thicker and showing on the radar as we ate our Moroccan lamb with cous cous. Perryn stood staunchly in the cockpit dripping with rain while eating his. Being his favourite dinner he ate his so quickly he burped w ith a large follow through over the side then kept eating. Truly seasoned! Awkward short sharp chop and wind on the nose, rain, dark clouds and no stars had us either sleeping or doing our watches as we watched the miles pass. Eventually the wind died and the sea state settled and we pulled down the sails and motored onwards under the big black clouds. You could smell the smells of the land under the clouds. A mixture of smoke and moisture mainly. At about 30 miles out we could see the long low glow of the lights in Tonga. Toronui had closed the gap and were following us about 6 miles behind. Sunrise had us about 8 miles off Tonga. The rain had cleared and we were welcomed by blue skies and dolphins on our bow. The islands of Tonga are long and low without hills or mountains of any kind. Covered in palms and with white sand around the shore line and rocks with blowholes in places. We motorsailed up and around the eastern side of tongatapu and around into the piha passage with Toronui beside us. Very pleasant watching the land slide by with a mixture of London techno and happy handbag music on in the cockpit. A nice feeling to get here after a pretty good passage! So now we're anchored in the hot sun and humidity and will have to wait today (Sunday) and tomorrow (kings birthday) until Tuesday to gain customs clearance and be allowed to go ashore. Toronui are anchored behind us 100 m away so hopefully we should be able to get together with them later. The boat is being set up for island cruising now and having a general tidy up and clean. The water is calling and ti me for a swim! Yeehar.

Day 8 - 110 nm to Tonga. We motor sailed with about 7 knots of north east wind and cooked up more tuna on the BBQ and had it on rice with a light salad. Very tasty indeed. The music was on in the cockpit as we tried to hold a northerly course with NE wind while we studied predict wind and considered our options. Ultimately we do what they say and see they are right. The forecast was for building northerly winds going more NW and getting up to 18 knots. At about 1500 hrs the wind built enough that we could turn the engine off. A welcome move as it had been burbling away reassuringly for the last 24 hrs. With the wind building from the north we struck a north westerly course with it in mind the wind would swing NW and allow us to lay through to Tonga. A lot of the afternoon was spent discussing this and the right time to tack to our advantage. A couple of times we tacked only having to tack back again after the wind shifted unfavourably. This situation created a new na utical term that we now have at our disposal. 'Premature tackulation' is an unfortunate situation where one tacks too early not having waited at least ten minutes to make sure a wind shift is permanent. It results in one having to tack back and try the manoeuvre again at a later time consciously avoiding premature tackulation. We got it right the second time. Anyway enough about that... By sunset the wind was up to 14 gusting 18 and we had a reef in the main and a couple of rolls on the headsail. Revilo with Ray (marine) at the helm, was punching her way upwind at about 6 knots while we chomped our way through a tasty chicken laksa. The wind built through the night up to 20 knots at times and this made for some slight slamming over waves at times and less sleep than usual. A bumpy ride and less sleepy on watch. We had our third ship pass in the night 3nm behind us. He was doing 18 knots, 200m length, 30m beam and 9 m draft. Sounds expensive to maintain...

Day break brought a moderate sea on our nose. As we approached a 25m underwater seamount Craig thought chances of catching a big fish were very high so put out a lure. As we sat in the cockpit to eat our weetbix with muesli topping I pointed the lure behind out to Perryn who had just arisen from his daily beauty sleep. As we looked back at the lure there was a massive strike with the line snapping tight and a big splash of white water. We again lurched to action stations turning off the radio and closing the windows in the cockpit to keep the blood out. Craig ended up pulling in the biggest yellow fin tuna he'd ever caught. It was about 1.2m long and we reckon would have weighed 20 kgs. It was despatched of and processed down to cookable chunks over the next hour and a half with the motor on and us pitching our way up wind. No humans were harmed in the processing of this animal. Currently we are working our way upwind at 5.5 knots with Ata island 21 nm away at a bearing of 9.

6 deg true. A pleasant day with some tropical stickiness, cloud with sun shining through and some blue patches. We have just got out our roast pork gravy sandwiches lunch and Moroccan lamb for dinner which Perryn is uber excited about. From what we understand he is partial to either Morocco, lamb or both.

Day 7 noon update - 225 miles to Tonga. Yesterday just before lunch we had some showers on the back of Revilo. This involved stripping to undies, togs or nudie and then putting a cold wet harness on and standing on the swim platform to lather up and hose with salt water until acceptably clean. I think the earlier explosion of concentrated foot odour prompted this attention to personal hygiene. A final rinse with warm fresh water sealed the deal. What a makeover. Checked in with Toronui to chat and swap positions. A medley of fish cakes and pumpkin soup with croutons at lunch took us through to early arvo where we struck two albacore tuna on our twin lures within a couple of seconds of one another. We swung to action stations cutting the music and sealing the windows in preparation of the bloodbath that was to follow. Fortunately the fish were smaller and the mess was limited. Craig filleted the fish over the back and while selling to us the gorgeous flavours to be fo und in the fish when eaten raw, he took a small bite of some only to gag and spit a mouthful over the back. This put us on the back foot when it came to tasting the raw tuna, but seems he'd got a mouthful of the fishes stomach contents and bile. A true privilege. He sliced some of the choice bits up for us and served then in soy sauce. Surprising how tasty it was. More of a texture and not at all fishy tasting. I'm realising the sheltered life I've led! The wind continued to drop right off and we motor sailed all day after dropping the headsail early on. Listened to a lot of music and the climate was most noticeably warmer today. All of us in shorts and t-shirts today. We heated up another tasty dinner of chicken pot pies with broccoli and corn and ate this below dropping the main just before sunset. We all felt nicely tired and retired to bed to charge up for our watches that were set to be a bit boring under motor without sails and seaway to add excitement. A coffee straig ht up at the beginning of my watch seemed a good solution to the grogginess I felt the previous night. After midnight our AIS alerted us to a large ship called M/T Box that was 200m long, 30m wide with a draft of 12 m moving at 14 knots. We called him to check in via VHF and he passed 3nm behind us in the darkness. We haven't seen many other ships out here this trip. The motor chugged on... We awoke and cobbled together a tasty breakfast of tuna rolled in soya, oil and herbs on the BBQ with some boiled spuds coated in butter. Very tasty breakfast and you knew you'd eaten. We had a brief broken communication with Toronui who appear to be approx 20 nm off our starboard quarter. Hoisted the main again into a now building NE breeze. The forecast has the weather bringing heavy rain at midnight and winds going from NE through to NW of about 15 knots. We'll tack when it comes around and hopefully it will be a nice upwind run to Tonga on port tack. Amazing how flat it is right now o ut here in the sunshine. We're being told that this is very unusual weather for a crossing to Tonga...

motoring no sails waiting for wind to fill in from ENE

Day 6 - sailing for 5 days and two hours and approx 345 nm to Tonga. Yesterday around lunch we endulged in midway party consisting of burger rings, bhuna mix, salted nuts and chocolate. This unscheduled pig out replaced the specified lunch so we're unsure how to work our menu now. I'm sure there will be a solution to our woes in this department! We towed a couple of Craig's lures all day but luck was not on our side in this department. We get to keep eating Loren's tasty creations and the fish get to keep doing whatever they do. With music on we kept on our same tack that we've been on since leaving nz with continuing wind on the beam of 12 knots and boat speeds of 6-7 with full main. Very comfortable sea state has us down below sitting around the saloon seating enjoying the layout. Mid afternoon we spotted a bunch of young pilot whales about 100m off our port side and moving in our direction. A couple of flying fish came onto the scene and this had Craig salivating uncontrollably. We also topped up the diesel tanks from our jerry cans while the sea was so smooth. With Toronui only 20 nm off our port quarter we had a couple of vhf check ins with them throughout the day. We had a pretty magic sunset that spread across the sky around us as we heated our chicken burritos. Mmmm. The wind built up after dinner towards 18 knots so we reefed down and settled into our evening watches. Craig's always on 6 - 9pm, Carmel on 9-12, Kevin midnight - 3am and then Perryn the 3am to 6am shift. Throughout the day we are generally all up with Perryn catching up a bit on sleep between 8am til midday or so. This system works really well is is quite luxurious really! Amazing how a day slips by on the boat as we slide along. It's awesome having a full range of gourmet dinners prepared for us. Thanks again Loren... The evening brought some wind shifts of up to 30 degrees, hazy skies and the odd dark cloud. This morning brought another temperate day. This allowed removal of some layers of thermal clothing and foot wear which further required the emergency response asphyxiation team to swing into full action, opening vents to maximum and double bagging the offending items of clothing. No names will be mentioned. After our odour induced sickness subsided our thoughts returned to food. A cleansing breakfast of fresh fruit salad with muesli, cranberries and raw nuts set us up for the day. We checked in with Toronui again and sailed on into a fading breeze. Motor just gone on...

enjoying some more great sailing in calm seas warming up fast

Our noon update on day five of our trip comes from a position 75nm nw of Raoul island, bearing 317 magnetic. We have been sailing for 4 days and 2 hours and crossed the halfway mark to tonga by 40 miles or so. A good days sailing with wind on the beam. Gradually throughout the afternoon yesterday the wind dropped off until we had to crank up the motor at about 1600 hrs and motor sail. The wind came more on the nose and the sea state settled and became quite smooth without the SE swell that had been mixing with a SW swell. This made things much more comfortable and had us all spending more time below. The two swallows from earlier reappeared and bravely landed in different spots on the boat. They looked quite knackered with one flying inside the cabin before being chased out by Carmel wielding a flare gun and cleaver. The birds found a spot cuddled up together, balanced on the lifelines looking inside our cabin. We put some biscuit crumbs outside for them. The wind ca rried on dropping towards sunset. We had become aware that Toronui was pretty close to us within 20 or so miles and another yacht called 'Enough' appeared on our AIS as darkness fell. We all ate a very tasty dinner of Loren's lasagne down below together, enjoying the flatter sea state. At 2100 the wind dropped right off and we furled the jib, only to put it out again at midnight as the wind came back again on and off. We cut the engine and sailed through the night. Dolphins visited us on two occasions during the night. We couldn't really see them well but their breathing and blowhole sounds were right beside us. Moon is on the build so the nights are changing. Much warmer now too, with an amazing deep blue colour to the water. Morning brought a sad and suspicious discovery of two dead swallows on the side deck. Carmel pleads innocence and an enquiry is pending. Craig dug out his world band radio and we listened in to the short wave morning check in of yachts to gulf harbour radio. Got Toronui's position. The we checked in with 'Enough' who were heading to Tonga and about 5 nm to the north of us. After that Toronui called us on vhf for a chat. We had some more of Craig's scrambled eggs, wind came up and motor went off. Perryn checked in with Wendy on Toronui via vhf. Wind is building nicely to 10 knots just forward of our beam now and we are slipping along beautifully with a lovely motion. Glad the motor is off! Lunch time...

motor sailed from 1630 to midnight, heading for Nuku alofa

This update comes from a point that's west of the kermadec islands. We're 460 nm into our 1060 nm trip and have been sailing for 3 days and 2 and 1/2 hrs. All well onboard and while we endure yet more beautiful sunny weather. Finding that we still aren't getting sick of the pretty constant 14 - 18 knots on our beam! Another lunch magically appeared from the fridge yesterday that was thoroughly enjoyed. Soup and frittata. Sorry to modify the plan Loren, but we had left overs and customised the menu. Again, very tasty thanks. Took the pole down and reached through the afternoon at good speed across an expanse of clear sky with clouds scattered around the distant horizon. Evening brought delicious beef stew and lightening winds. As per the other days the Tongan doctor brought our usual increase in wind after sunset with winds between 15 - 20 again. In the early hours we enjoyed 22 knots and boat speeds surging to 10 knots. Great fun. Enjoying getting our heads into the predict wind software which seems pretty bang on so far! A few squalls just before dawn and then another vampire repelling breakfast of Craig's scrambled eggs with garlic and onion. Sounds weird - tastes good. The sea flattened out with some wind drop so we shook out the reef and the wind is building again now and we're cranking again at 8 knots. A swallow is flying beside us looking to land so we're trying to calm Carmel from her irrational fears of cute winged creatures. Will be interesting if it lands for shelter under the dodger and yet more interesting seeing how far back Carmel can sit on her midnight watch! All good here.

This update comes from a point that's west of the kermadec islands. We're 460 nm into our 1060 nm trip and have been sailing for 3 days and 2 and 1/2 hrs. All well onboard and while we endure yet more beautiful sunny weather. Finding that we still aren't getting sick of the pretty constant 14 - 18 knots on our beam! Another lunch magically appeared from the fridge yesterday that was thoroughly enjoyed. Soup and frittata. Sorry to modify the plan Loren, but we had left overs and customised the menu. Again, very tasty thanks. Took the pole down and reached through the afternoon at good speed across an expanse of clear sky with clouds scattered around the distant horizon. Evening brought delicious beef stew and lightening winds. As per the other days the Tongan doctor brought our usual increase in wind after sunset with winds between 15 - 20 again. In the early hours we enjoyed 22 knots and boat speeds surging to 10 knots. Great fun. Enjoying getting our heads into the predict wind software which seems pretty bang on so far! A few squalls just before dawn and then another vampire repelling breakfast of Craig's scrambled eggs with garlic and onion. Sounds weird - tastes good. The sea flattened out with some wind drop so we shook out the reef and the wind is building again now and we're cranking again at 8 knots. A swallow is flying beside us looking to land so we're trying to calm Carmel from her irrational fears of cute winged creatures. Will be interesting if it lands for shelter under the dodger and yet more interesting seeing how far back Carmel can sit on her midnight watch! All good here.

We are currently wondering if it is possible to become sick of perfect sailing conditions. We are beam reaching in 20 knots with warm sunshine and clear skies. Yesterday afternoon we were buzzed by a friendly albatross and a not so friendly Russian tanker. He kept out of our way but didn't seem the most talkative of chaps when we spoke with him on vhf. Made good progress yesterday poled out downwind heading slightly east of our rum line. Nice frittata for lunch and tasty pasta for dinner! Thanks Loren, you should write a cookbook. Last night we had good breeze ranging from 12 - 20 knots with a momentary wind shift that pushed us east. At 0430 Craig and Perryn got rid of the pole and we came around onto the beam reach we're on now and heading north on our line. Some scrambled eggs with onion and garlic for breakfast and a brief bunch of showers before clearing to a nice day today. On the wildlife front another albatross came by us. We have had big pods of dolphins fee ding and Carmel spotted what we think was massive tuna splashing. They look so different out of the can. We have enjoyed the sunshine while discussing what flights to book, farming, names, boats and what day it is in Tonga. We are still unsure of what day it is but aim to have this sussed by sunset. Not long til lunch. 345 nm out of Nz now.

just took pole down, few rain clouds around, good to be moving faster.

We left gulf harbour at 0930 hrs and motor sailed out between little and great barrier islands seeing two humpback whales about 200m away. Very light winds all day and then the breeze filled just before sunset allowing us to give the engine a rest. Put a reef in the main for night time and sailed downwind with the headsail goose winged. Had a delicious dinner of potato salad and chicken (thanks Loren) in the cockpit under red head torch light. Started the watches properly for our first night. Boat humming along really nicely on the autohelm heading slightly east of rum line and following the breeze. Phosphorescence bubbles sparkling from our stern and lots of stars. Brilliant. We all slept well and started the day with coffee and apples.

looking forward to a slow departure Sat morning with all crew onboard!

ready to depart

Ready to depart for Nuku alofa